This book provides the most recent developments in the field of materials science, with chapters focused on advances in thermoluminescence research; a new structural explanation for plastic deformation behavior, including yielding and necking, using in situ Raman spectroscopy to investigate the uniaxial drawing and stress relaxation processes; an examination of the fast pyrolysis of woody biomass carried out with and without a zeolite catalyst; a review of proposals that have been made for the assessment of geologic materials in relation to their contribution to external gamma dose radiation; a comprehensive summary of practical X-ray analysis applied to the study of welding fluxes at high temperatures; and state-of-the-art research on calcium orthophosphate-containing biocomposites and hybrid biomaterials suitable for biomedical applications.